Iowa Man Allegedly Shoots Wife With A Crossbow While She Was Asleep

KEY POINTS

George Dennison shot his wife in the hand with a crossbow
The victim, Lillian Dennison, suffered minor injuries in the attack
George escaped the scene, but was arrested hours later

A 68-year-old man in Iowa was arrested for allegedly shooting his wife in her sleep with a crossbow.

Lillian Dennison, 68, was sleeping on the couch when the incident took place on Evergreen Street in Ottumwa at 1:13 a.m. Wednesday, according to ABC News.

Her husband, George Dennison, went up to her with a crossbow and shot her while she was fast asleep. George narrowly missed his wife's head as the shot struck Lillian in her hand, the Ottumwa Police Department said in a statement.

The police confirmed the couple were married, and were living together when the incident took place.

On the day of the attack, the couple was having a verbal argument, following which Lillian slept off on the couch with her hands between her head and the pillow, according to the Ottumwa Courier.

When George fired with the crossbow, the arrow pierced her hand and pinned it to the pillow, court documents reportedly said.

Lillian suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment from a local hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery.

George escaped from the scene following the attack on his wife. The officers found him around 600 feet southeast of the residence, and arrested him within ten hours.

"Later that morning at approximately 10:00 a.m., officers from the Ottumwa Police Department and the Wapello County Sheriff's Department arrested George Edward Dennison, age 68, near the wooded area around Evergreen and Mable in Ottumwa," the police department said in the statement posted on Facebook.

George is currently facing charges of attempted murder, domestic abuse assault and aggravated misdemeanor, according to KCCI.

He is being held at the Wapello County Jail. His cash-only bond was set at $50,000, and no details were revealed about his court appearance.

In an unrelated incident reported in July, a 33-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his neighbor by slitting his throat with an arrow in Hawaii. Cameron Stewart was charged with second-degree murder after his 86-year-old neighbor, Charles Hacker, was found in a walker seat in his driveway, bleeding profusely from a neck injury. A recurve bow, various arrows and other archery-related items were later found in Stewart's home.